Reporting a hate crime or hate incident
Overview
Hate crimes and hate incidents occur when an individual is subjected to hostility or prejudice by another person because of either their race, faith, disability, sexual orientation and/or gender identity. These five 'strands' are known as 'Protected Characteristics'.
Did you know...
Any type of crime can be a hate crime? This is because when someone commits a crime, it is the motivation behind their actions which may make it a 'hate crime'. For example, any individual who has been assaulted is a victim of crime and should be supported accordingly. If the offender shouts homophobic abuse before assaulting someone - this becomes a hate crime, as well as an assault.
Where there is evidence that a person has been targeted because of their protected characteristic(s), a judge can increase the offender's sentence?
You don't have to have one of the protected characteristics to be a victim of a hate crime? If, for instance, you are abused because someone thinks you are gay or that you have a particular faith, it doesn't matter whether their assumptions are accurate - it can still be treated as a hate crime.
Report a hate crime directly to the police
You can:
- Report a hate crime directly to the police or,
- Get support to report a hate crime. Reporting Centres are local community organisations that can help you through the reporting process and offer support.
The link below will guide you through the different options.
